Chapter 184 Gifts and a Glimmer of Hope
"It sounds pretty good, at least it's not embarrassing."
Grindelwald listened carefully to Elena's description, and after a moment of silence, he nodded slowly.
Birth, aging, illness and death are natural laws that no living being can resist. Even Nicoléme, who has mastered the Philosopher's Stone and has an almost "eternal" lifespan, cannot prevent his body from aging.
In fact, Grindelwald is not afraid of death. During his long time alone, he imagined many scenes about death's visit, and now this leisurely situation is undoubtedly one of the most ideal ways to say goodbye.
"sorry……"
Elena bit her lip hard and still lowered her head - no matter in her past life or this life, for the first time in her life, the girl felt that the footsteps of the God of Death sounded so clearly.
"There is nothing to be sorry for. As you said, this, um...diabetes, is not a disease that happens overnight. It is a long process, even long enough that it may be long before you were born."
Grindelwald waved his hand indifferently. As one of the few open-minded wizards in the magical world, it was not that difficult for him to accept and understand some of the Muggle medical theoretical results spoken by Elena.
"Look up at me. I'm not so fragile that I'll die just by looking at you."
Glancing at the depressed Elena, Grindelwald raised his eyebrows and patted the girl's slightly trembling shoulder, "Listen, in this world, people are dying all the time, and death is just a matter of time. The most common thing. As a wizard, it is not a bad thing to learn how to face death earlier."
"Actually, this is just a play that you and Dumbledore put on together. The purpose is to train me? In fact, you won't really be fine, right. Dumbledore has actually been observing us from a corner. Bar?"
Elena raised her head, her eyes slightly red and swollen, and asked rather reluctantly, with a hint of hope in her tone.
"……Unfortunately."
Grindelwald looked at the little girl in front of him, whose eyes were as swollen as a rabbit's and exuding the light of unrealistic hope. After a moment of silence, Grindelwald calmly shook his head.
"Okay. In fact, I can also tell you that when you wake up tomorrow morning, you will find that everything is just a dream, the world is still beautiful, I am healthy, you will return to Hogwarts to continue studying, and all ordinary daily life will come back …But—you and I both know that doesn’t mean much, right?”
"Actually..." Elena's eyes darkened.
"My magic power can still last for about eleven hours, which is almost enough to get through today."
Grindelwald stretched out his big hand and rubbed the girl's hair, interrupting Elena's words before she could organize them. He looked seriously into the girl's lake-blue eyes, "But... tonight, let me go back alone." Just sleep on the tower - I thought about it and it's more comfortable to sleep in the previous room. Be quiet when you leave tomorrow and don't bother me again."
"What are you talking about? The room above is not..."
Hearing Grindelwald's voice, Elena frowned suddenly, and was about to point out the old man's excuses that were full of mistakes. Suddenly, she saw a look of pleading that she had never seen before in the old wizard's smiling eyes, and the words she was about to say suddenly choked. In the throat.
"Okay, I understand."
The expression on Elena's face changed several times, and the movement of her lips turned into a sigh in her heart. In the end, she didn't say anything, she just nodded and agreed, her chest felt like it was suddenly blocked, and she was so stuffy that she felt panicked.
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
After receiving Elena's promise, Grindelwald's expression relaxed. He waved his hand and suddenly changed the subject and said, "If I remember correctly, your birthday will be in ten days, right?"
"Well, September 25th." Elena nodded and looked at the old man with some confusion.
"I have a gift for you. I originally planned to wait until Albus comes to pick you up, but it seems I have to give it a little earlier."
Grindelwald smiled slightly, and took out an exquisitely crafted necklace from the inner pocket of his robe with his right hand. The pattern of the pendant consisted of a triangle, a circle and a vertical line. It seemed to be made of some unknown metal. It glowed slightly under the flickering firelight of the fireplace nearby.
"This is a gadget I made to kill time when I was young. It's a magic prop, with a small iron armor spell fixed on it, which can automatically help you resist one or two simple spells - if it's the ones in your school Kid, it might take five to ten to break.”
"at the same time……"
Grindelwald paused and rubbed his thumb on the pattern with a complicated expression, "This was also my former symbol, the famous Dark Lord symbol in the wizarding world. Therefore, it is best not to show it in front of others often. .”
"Well, I understand."
Elena nodded, took the necklace from the old man's hands with both hands, and put it on her neck solemnly.
The pendant does not have the cold metallic coolness as expected when it sticks to the skin. Instead, it feels slightly rough, like wood and stone. A vague magic power hovers in the center of the pendant, seemingly waiting to be stimulated at any time.
"But you don't need to be too nervous. There probably won't be too many people who recognize this symbol."
Grindelwald glanced at Elena and grinned, "After all, my era has passed for too long. Even the youngest wizard back then is at least over sixty years old now. And Compared to this symbol, I guess Voldemort’s unattractive snake and bone mark seems more scary. Maybe I should have added some bones or animals or something..."
As he spoke, Grindelwald shook his head in disgust. Today's wizards are much worse than those of his time.
Ignoring the old man's unfunny joke, Elena touched the pendant on her chest and asked with a frown.
"Is there really no other way? Think about it again, such as contacting Dumbledore or even the European Ministry of Magic?"
Although she had promised the old wizard not to discuss this issue again, Elena still refused to give up.
"No. In order to prevent outside wizards from entering, Nurmengard Castle has isolated all external communication channels."
Gellert Grindelwald shook his head, looked around the surrounding stone walls of the castle, and spread his hands.
"When the entire castle was first established, a series of profound spells such as the Unplottable Curse, the Apparition Prohibition or Apparition Prohibition Curse, the Muggle Expelling Curse, etc. were cast upon it, completely removing it from the consciousness of most people. stripped away from cognition.”
"Ever since a saint tried to break into the castle and was discovered, the true coordinates of the entire castle have been hidden in Dumbledore's heart using the Fidelity Charm. Unless Albus takes the initiative to bring someone here and reveals the address personally, it will not be known until Albus Until death, no one in the entire magical world can find this castle built in the Alps."
"So...no one will come."
After saying that, Gellert Grindelwald stood up, took the initiative to end the topic, and smiled at Elena and stretched out his hand.
"Speaking of which, I haven't taken you to visit this castle for so many days. While it's still early today, you can accompany me around the castle - I can also tell you some, Huo The secrets of the wizarding world that the professors at Gwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry won’t tell you.”
Since there was only one day left, Grindelwald naturally did not want to continue sitting in the room in a daze.
Except for helping Elena to catch termites on the fourth floor a few days ago, he had forgotten the last time he took a walk in New Mengadri.
"What's wrong? Why are you still standing there?"
After a while, Grindelwald, who received no response, raised his head in confusion and shrugged helplessly, "Is it possible that you have other better ideas?"
Not far from the old man, Elena could be seen frowning, her index finger in her mouth biting gently, her dim eyes gradually brightened, and she whispered unconsciously.
"Austria...Alps...Austria...Alps...""
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Gu~
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